


Risk

by Anonymous



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear of Discovery, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prefecture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:29:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1421536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their relationship may be discovered after a hard day at work where Javert is humiliated.  He hates himself, but has to put the relationship first.  Worse yet, ValJean won't leave well enough alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Risk

**Author's Note:**

> Written for prompt in round 8 of Anon Kink Meme Prompt

The air in the Captain’s office was thick with anger as Javert stood at attention and took his due.  Three months he had been tracking a horse theft ring.  It had grown further out into the country-side and kept him away from home for days at a time.  He was lucky that ValJean was still working in the city, so he could busy himself with his own work. 

“I expected better from you, Javert,” his captain said.  His voice rose more than usual.  “It took them getting caught by a farmers _wife_ to catch them?  Bested by a woman?  And, to make matters worse, I hear that you and Monsieur Madeleine have taken up residence together.”

“I was hot on their trail.  I would have caught them,” Javert explained, doing his best to keep his voice stable.  “And what I do in my personal time is none of your or the prefecture’s business.” 

The Captain slammed his hands on his desk.  “What _my_ officers do _is_ my business.  And if you think that your relationship with the Mayor has gone unnoticed, you are a fool.  It won’t go unnoticed by society, the prefecture, or me.  And, it will not protect you or your position under my command! You are dismissed!”

With a respectful bow, Javert stepped out of the office.  Anger flared with him.  His perfect record was now tarnished.  Bested by a female would have been bad enough.  But, his relationship with ValJean was being threatened.  This – more than anything else – terrified him to the bone.

“Morning Love,” ValJean said as Javert walked through the door. 

Still reeling from being chastised at work, Javert only grunted at him.  If his partner’s position couldn’t help him, there was no need for anyone but him to worry.  “You’re up early,” he said, as he hung up his great coat. 

“I have business in town this morning.  But, I wanted to have morning tea with you.”

Always so loving, thinking about Javert more than himself – ValJean was nothing if not predictable.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I had a rough night, and simply want to sleep it off,” Javert said, hoping that ValJean would retreat as so often he did.

Something was wrong with Javert.  Typically, he came back from work wired and in need of a cup of tea before he relaxed enough to sleep.  He knew Javert thought that his cup of tea was secret.  But, ValJean knew better.  Javert was terrible at dishes.

“What is it, love?” he asked, his tone gentle but serious. 

“Just not right now.  Let me sleep on it.”

That did it.  Now ValJean knew something was wrong.  “What is it?  Just tell me,” he said, as he followed the man up the stairs to their bed chamber.

 

“Leave it alone,” Javert said, his voice raising as he changed into his nighshift. 

“Javert, just talk to me.”

“Frell off!” Javert yelled.  “What don’t you understand about the fact that I don’t want to talk about it?”

ValJean took a step back.  He was used to Javert being ornery, but this was another level completely.  Something was wrong. 

“Javert, I don’t understand.  What is it?”

“Nothing that I can discuss with you,” Javert said through gritted teeth.  ValJean always left well enough alone. Why couldn’t he this time?

“Well that’s not a good enough answer,” ValJean replied.  “You knew -…”

“Back off!  Just frell off!” Javert yelled.  He would have retreated from the room, but he wasn’t dressed to be anywhere else but the bedroom and ValJean was blocking his way out besides.

“Javert, I only want to be there for you.  Just tell me what happened.”

“I can’t,” he responded quickly.  “It’s not – It’s not for me to tell.”

ValJean rubbed the bridge of his nose.  The men he was going to meet with would simply have to wait.  It was obvious to him that something was very wrong with Javert.  

“Would you rather talk about it after you sleep?”

“You have to go to work.  Just go.  I’ll be all right.  I don’t need to be coddled.”

It was true – Javert didn’t need to be coddled.  No matter how much ValJean may have wanted to.  He had fallen in love with a man who needed to be left alone.  A man who needed to be loved from afar.  A man with a volatile temper, which protected insecurities that ran so deep ValJean hadn’t even scratched the surface.

“Just back off okay,” Javert said, getting into bed. 

“You know I can’t do that,” VaJean said, sitting down on the edge.

“Back off!  Just back off!  Just frelling back off!”  Javert got louder and louder until he was screaming. 

With a deep breath and a breaking heart, ValJean got up.  “I’ll ask you one more time, and then never again.  What happened?”

“We have to break up,” Javert said, looking down at the bed.  “We can’t be together anymore.”

“What?” ValJean asked, sitting back down.   Something was dreadfully wrong, and ValJean intended to get to the bottom of it.  “Why?”

“Because they see us… the prefecture… there was a complaint.”  Well a threat, but he wasn’t about to admit that.  “People know we’re together and it’s going to hurt your reputation – maybe even your position.”

“Ah,” ValJean said.  He was worried about this, but not for himself, for Javert.  “Who said something?”

“I don’t know.  But, I know that … “

“They threatened you didn’t they?  Threatened your position.”

A minuet shake of the head, but Javert said nothing. 

ValJean knew that nothing came before Javert’s position, not even him.  “Is that what you want?  Do you want to break up… to save your, er, _my_ reputation.”

Javert was silent as he continued to look down at the covers.  “I suppose I should l-leave before I do further harm to your future.  You can’t have people looking into you… your past. “

ValJean blinked back tears, unconvinced that this was what Javert wanted.  “You want to leave? I can’t – I can’t stop you.  But… “  He was stopped by the seriousness and the pain in Javert’s eyes. 

“I don’t… I don’t wish it.”  Tears welled in his eyes and he cursed his levels of stress and exhaustion. He hadn’t eaten well nor slept while tracking the horse thieves. 

ValJean engulfed the smaller man in a hug, hold him close.  He rested his chin on Javert’s head.  “I don’t wish it either.”

“I – I can’t… I can’t risk you… risk you being discovered.  I can’t…”  Tears flowed from Javert’s eyes and were quickly absorbed into ValJean’s vest.

“You won’t.  We’ll be careful.  They’re not looking for ValJean – just Madeleine.”  His voice was but a whisper, but his heart swelled with relief.  He knew that their relationship could end at any minute, but he would be damned if someone other than them made that decision for them.

Javert nodded sleepily against ValJean’s chest.  “I need to rest.” 

“You do… and I need to get to work.  You’ll be here when I return?”

“So long as we don’t pass each other on the road.”  Sometimes ValJean worked so late that he would return later than Javert went to work. 

“I’ll be home early,” ValJean assured him, planting a chaste kiss on his forehead.  He tucked Javert in again and smiled when the man started to snore before he was even out of the room.

 

 


End file.
